MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Whether it’s someone from the same race team, an affiliated competitor or a manufacturer-related opponent, every driver in the NASCAR Cup Series field has teammates.
As a result, there are a lot of complicated factors that come into play when racing with and against a teammate. Ryan Blaney, who enters this weekend’s third round of the playoffs sixth in the 16-driver field, tried to put those considerations in perspective.
“That’s what’s so interesting about our sport compared to other team sports. I get asked that question a lot by fans at meet-and-greets and stuff like that of how that dynamic works and I usually explain it as we all race for the same owner under one hat,” the Team Penske driver said.
“We all race for Roger and we want Team Penske to be successful as a whole. All of the men and women working there, he wants to do well for them and what’s good for the whole organization and at the same time you want to do the best you can for your individual team.”
“You want to win. You want to be the guy who is providing the wins and the championships for your guys and you bringing that to all the men and women back at the race shop and everybody involved at Team Penske,” said Blaney, who is part of a three-car team with Joey Logano and Austin Cindric. “So, it is kind of odd. Sometimes you have to think about the greater good of the entire team, and I feel like we do that at our organization very well of working with each other on the track and off the track.
“The team dynamic is solid. Us working together at speedways — me, Joey and Austin — we’re really good at that and I think it’s shown in some races before of what is best for the whole organization. That’s our goal.”
Blaney acknowledges that it’s an unusual dynamic.
“It’s weird. I mean, sometimes your ego you want to be the guy,” he said. “You want to be the winning guy and sometimes you have to think of the greater good, so it is odd. I mean, we’re still competitors. Me and Joey and Austin are fierce competitors, but you also help out each other and give information and try to make the whole team run well.
“At the same time, you’re worried about yourself, so it’s helping your team and your teammates, but not just rolling over for them. You also want to do well for the team. It’s really strange and it’s hard to explain, but I think we make it work fairly decently.”
Blaney said that the rules of engagement among teammates change during the playoffs when every point is important.
“I feel like in the playoffs it’s different because every little point matters. Every position matters. Every stage point. Every finishing point,” he said. “All of that stuff matters, so I feel like some breaks that you might give to a teammate during a race, you possibly don’t give them as many breaks. If you’re coming down to the end of the stage, 15 laps to go, and you and your teammate are racing for a stage point, you’re probably gonna race them pretty hard because you both are going for that point.
“I think that’s understood and expected because you’re trying to do well for yourself, so it does change a little bit in the playoffs,” he noted. “I don’t think the information is any different between the teams and drivers. I feel like we all still do that, but we probably race each other a little bit harder for every point because I think that’s what matters and that’s understood.”